


Safe Haven

by theawkwardonetwothree



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Daddy Kink, Dom Spencer Reid, Dom/sub, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Kidnapping, Kinky, Lots of it, Romance, Smut, Stalking, Sub OC, Team as Family, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-24 16:54:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15634830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theawkwardonetwothree/pseuds/theawkwardonetwothree
Summary: Spencer Reid knows how lucky he is to have a job that he loves, even when it weighs down on him. Not to mention how his coworkers were more like family to him than just friends. But he couldn't deny that he wanted something more. He wanted someone to come home to after a hard case, someone he could love, and care for, and look after. Has he finally found that someone?





	Safe Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer tries to cope with a particularly disturbing case.

"Clear." Morgan's voice sounded in Spencer's mic, followed by JJ's, then Emily's, as they cased the rooms on the ground floor.

"Clear."

"Clear."

The team made their way through the large home, guns drawn, in search of their UnSub. Hotch nodded his head at Spencer and Rossi, signaling to the stairs. They stepped in behind him as he silently crept up the staircase, straining to hear anything. The house was eerily silent except for the quiet footsteps of the agents and officers. They spread out on the second floor.

Spencer cleared the room to his right before slowly walking up to the door at the end of the hallway. The door was cracked open and Reid peeked through the gap. He caught sight of a figure sitting on the ground. He wished he could get a better view, perhaps see if the man was armed, but the door wasn't open far enough. He turned back around and flagged down the two agents, pointing to the door beside him.

Speaking into his mic, he whispered, "Second floor, room at the end of the hall."

A few seconds later, Morgan, JJ, and a local officer appeared at the top of the stairs. Spencer tightened his grip on his gun and looked at Hotch, who nodded at him. He settled his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and opened the door quickly. He pointed his gun at the man who he could now see was kneeling on the floor in front of a sheet-covered lump. 

Blocking out the dread pooling in his stomach at the thought of what was under the crisp, white sheet, he yelled "Freeze! FBI!"

The man did not move. This time it was Hotch who spoke. "Daniel Jacobs, put your hands on your head. Step away from the sheet and turn around slowly." Again, the man did not move. "I said put your hands on your head and turn around. Back away from the sheet. Now." 

Jacobs sat still as ever, kneeling with his feet beneath him. His hands were folded in his lap, and his head was bowed. As Spencer flanked the man's right side, he noticed a gun lying on the ground about two feet to the left of the man. As Morgan stepped up beside Reid, he pointed it out to him. Morgan crept further to the left and silently kept inching closer to the gun as Hotch repeated his order once more. Now less than a foot away from the gun, Derek, gun still trained on the man, reached his foot out as quick as he could, pulling the gun back towards him, sliding it behind him on the floor. 

The UnSub had apparently not realized how close Derek was, and startled. He dove for the gun but missed. Morgan pulled his leg out of the man's path and bent, grabbing Daniel by his arm and yanking him to his feet. The man fought against him but the agent managed to pull the man's arms behind his back. He clicked the handcuffs around the man's wrists.

As he did so, they all watched as Reid rushed over to the sheet, pulling it up. Beneath it was the unmistakable form of a child. He stared at the still, calm face as he pressed his fingers to the young boy's neck, feeling for a pulse. His heart dropped as he realized the skin wasn't warm under his fingers, but almost cool to the touch. He hoped desperately to feel something, feeling around the neck, but of course, it never happened. He looked up at the people in the room and shook his head.

Jacobs laughed at the sadness present on Reid's face and Spencer looked at him with obvious disgust. Morgan yanked him over to the door. "Daniel Jacobs, you are under arrest for the kidnappings and murders of nine children. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law." As he read him his rights, he lead him out of the room, down the stairs, and outside. After guiding him into the back of one of the police cars, he slammed the door and met back up with his team. 

One of the officers had escorted them outside, and he went to get into the patrol car to drive Jacobs back to the precinct. The other officers were still in the bedroom, waiting for the crime scene technicians to arrive. 

None of them said much on the drive to the police station. Thankfully, there was enough evidence that none of them had to interrogate Jacobs. They stayed for a while to complete their paperwork and wrap up their reports, and after that, it was time to go. Spencer was beyond relieved. He wanted to leave this town as soon as he could.

"We can either go back to the hotel and fly out in the morning, or fly out tonight and spend the night in our own beds."

None of them particularly wanted to get on a plane, but they couldn't deny that it would feel wonderful to be in the comfort of their own homes. Not to mention that JJ and Hotch were itching to get home to their children. So they all agreed that they would go home that night. 

Again, the flight was as quiet as the earlier drive had been. That was normal after this kind of case, though. They hit the parents on the team the hardest, but it was difficult for them all to process. Most of the team sat in their seats, either talking occasionally or doing something on their phones.

Aaron and Emily sat next to each other, holding hands quietly. Every once in a while they would whisper to each other, but otherwise they stayed silent. JJ sat by herself, looking at her phone, and Spencer imagined that she was looking at pictures of Henry, which she often did during a case that involved kids. Morgan sat across from her, wearing a pair of earbuds. His eyes were closed but they couldn't tell if he was really asleep. On the other side of the plane, Rossi sat with a journal in his hands, tapping the page with a pen. 

After observing the others for a while, Reid turned back to the window. The sun had just set, so it was mostly dark outside. He concentrated on the clouds, hoping that it would stop him from thinking about the case. He subconsciously rubbed his fingers against his palm, feeling the phantom sensation of that boy's skin against his fingers. He squeezed his eyes closed for a few seconds, balling his hand into a fist. He wedged his hands underneath his legs for the rest of the short flight. He tapped his foot, counting each tap to distract himself and occupy his brain.

When the jet finally touched the ground, Spencer was the first one off. He slung his book bag over his shoulder and made his way out to the SUVs. When they made it back to the Bureau, they were dismissed and Spencer drove himself home. On his way to his apartment, he did his best to only think about driving and not let himself become distracted. When he got home, however, it only got harder and harder to keep his thoughts away from the devastation of this last case.

They had lost 9 boys. Nine children that would never come home to their parents. He wasn't sure why, but this case was getting to him even more than other cases with children did. He wondered if it was because they hadn't been able to save the last boy, Bailey, but he wasn't sure. It was driving him crazy. He couldn't stop rubbing his fingers together. 

Nothing would drive away the memory of the boy's cold, dead skin against his fingers, the absence of a pulse. Tears stung his eyes as he went into his bathroom. He scrubbed his hands for at least a couple minutes. He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his cheeks. He hiccuped and swiped at his cheeks, scrubbing his hands still. Finally, when his skin was pink and as clean as it had ever been, he turned off the sink and dried his hands. He felt better, but he still couldn't quite manage to stop crying completely. He wished he weren't alone. As much as it made him feel like a helpless kid, he didn't want to sleep in an empty, dark apartment. 

He didn't want to be alone. He wanted to be held, he wanted to wipe his tears away. Shaking his head, he jumped into the shower and scrubbed his body just as thoroughly. The hot water soothed his aching muscles and he groaned, finally able to relax just a bit. His eyes stung a bit after crying, but he didn't mind. After about twenty minutes of just standing under the hot stream of water, he forced himself to turn off the tap and get out of the shower.

He dressed himself in a pair of boxers, long pajama pants, and a white t-shirt. Reid walked into his bedroom, and without even bothering to turn on the light, crawled into his cold bed. He pulled the blanket over himself and after a few minutes, managed to drift off into a restless sleep.

~

The next morning, Spencer awoke to his phone ringing. He groggily rubbed his hand over his face, reaching out to grab his cell phone. Squinting at the caller ID, he answered the call and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he greeted, his voice gravelly with sleep.

"Hey Spence." JJ's voice rang in his ear. "Did I wake you?"

"Um, yeah. It's okay though."

JJ chuckled at him. "Someone was tired. It's almost noon."

Spencer frowned and looked at his bedside clock, shocked at how late he had slept in. "Oops."

"We did get in pretty late last night, though." Spencer hummed his agreement. "Anyway, I was calling because Henry asked if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."

That brought a smile to Reid's face. "Sure. I could never say no to him."

"Can anyone?" JJ laughed. "He's excited to see you."

That warmed his heart. "I miss him," he told her. "It's been a little while since I've been over."

"Yeah," she said sadly. "We've been working so much lately, it's hard to find time to just relax and spend time together."

Spencer agreed. He hated to admit it, but it was true. They'd been travelling more than usual, and he knew how much of a toll it took on JJ, not being able to see her son as much as she wanted to. It had been too long since Spencer had been able to go visit Henry, or any of the team, really. He hoped that that would change soon.

His friend interrupted his thoughts. "Anyway, you can come over whenever you want. We're just hanging out here."

He nodded. "Okay, sounds good. I have to get dressed and have some breakfast, and I'll be over."

"Okey dokey. I'll let Henry know. See you soon, Spence."

He hung up the phone and set down his phone, smiling. He was feeling a lot better than he had the night before with the prospect of seeing his godson in his head. Spencer rubbed his hands over his face and sat up in his bed. Swinging his legs off the side of his bed, he groaned as he stood up and headed into his kitchen. After starting his coffee pot, he sat down at his table, grabbing his notebook. 

This was usually the time where he would take a quick shower while his coffee brewed, but since he had taken a long shower the night before, he didn't feel like it. So instead, he decided to sit down and write his mom a letter. There was once a time where he would write her every day. But since he'd become more busy with work, and friends, and she had started to go longer without being lucid, he now wrote her less frequently. He still made sure he wrote her a letter at least once a week, though he felt better when he was able to send two or three. Even if she didn't read them all right when she got them.

It didn't take him very long to scrawl out a note that was about a page long. He told her about how he had traveled to New York, though he didn't tell her that it was for work. If she was lucid enough, she'd figure it out, but he didn't want to spell out for her what the was doing there. He told her about the books that had read in the last week, and wrote her about how he was going to JJ's today to see Henry, and have dinner with him, JJ, and Will. 

When he was finished, he folded up the letter and slid it into an envelope. After addressing it, he left it on the table. Heading back into the kitchen, he poured himself a hot mug of fresh coffee. After adding some milk and a decent scoop of sugar, he took a small sip, doing his best not to burn his tongue. As his drink cooled off a bit on the counter, he grabbed a piece of bread that was, thankfully, not moldy yet, and popped it into the toaster. Spreading some butter and jelly on it once it was done, he grabbed his coffee and sat on his couch. 

It didn't take long before he had eaten his toast and drank all his coffee. He crumpled up the paper towel and threw it away and set his cup in the sink. He headed to his bedroom to get ready for the day. He dressed himself in a par of dark wash jeans, white button down shirt, and a navy blue cardigan. After throwing on his beat up Converse, he was ready to go. 

The drive over to JJ and Will's house was short, so it wasn't long before he was walking up their driveway. He knocked on the door, and a few seconds later he was greeted by JJ. She opened the door with a friendly smile, dressed casually in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. She pulled him in for a short hug.  

"Hey Spence!"

"Hey, Jayje. How are you?"

She waved her hand as she moved aside to let him in. "Exhausted. Henry refused to take a nap today, so I haven't been able to sit down all day. I've been chasing him all around the backyard."

Spencer smiled. He could hear said boy yelling something about a bird from the living room. 

"Hey, Henry. Guess who's here?"

"Uncle Spence?" He could hear the little boy's feet slapping against the hardwood as he made his way into the entryway. "Uncle Spence!" He ran forward and slammed himself into Spencer's legs, wrapping his small arms around them.

Reid grinned and crouched down to give Henry a proper hug. "Hey buddy! How are you?"

"I'm good! There's a bird outside!" He pointed in the direction of the backyard.

"What? No way! Show me," Spencer said, smiling as Henry grabbed his hand, dragging him over to the sliding glass door. He could hear JJ laughing behind him, and waved at Will on his way out the back door.

He took Henry outside, and they spent quite a while pointing out the birds and squirrels. Spencer thought it was adorable to see how excited his godson got over animals that he saw nearly every day. They played with Henry's toy trucks, and in his sandbox. By the time they came back in a while later, Henry was filthy, and Spencer pants were covered in dirt and he was sure that his shoes were now filled with sand. 

Spencer had Henry take his shoes off outside and followed suit, then brushed the dirt off his pants. He felt about guilty about how dirty Henry had gotten, and winced when they walked into the living room where JJ and Will sat on the couch. 

JJ laughed off his apology. "Don't worry about it, Spence. He's getting a bath tonight anyway."

JJ took Henry back into his bedroom to change his clothes, though, so that he didn't get dirt and sand on the furniture. While she did so, Spencer sat on the couch and visited with Will. 

"I've been good," he answered after Spencer asked him how he'd been. "Just been spending as much time with Jayje and Henry as I can."

Spencer nodded. "That's good. I know she's glad that we got home before the weekend."

"Yeah." Will raised his eyebrows. "I think that last case ya'll were on got to her." He looked at Spencer. "Since she's been home, she's barely let go of him. I was surprised that she didn't come out there when you two were outside."

Reid looked sadly down the hall where JJ had gone. "Yeah. It got to all of us I think, but mostly JJ and Hotch."

They dropped the subject as Henry came running back down the hall, now wearing a pair of sweatpants and a different long sleeve shirt. "I want juice!"

"Can you ask nicely, baby?"

"Can I have juice please, mommy?

JJ laughed, shaking her head. "Yes, you can."

She handed Henry a sippy cup of juice, and the happy little boy climbed up onto his uncle's lap. "Watcha got there, bud?"

"Apple juice!" He held his cup in the air proudly.

"Yummy!"

Henry hummed as he took a drink. "Do you like apple juice, Uncle Spence?" The man nodded in reply, and Henry held out his cup. "Drink some."

Spencer took a sip from the sippy cup, glaring at Will as he snickered. "Why thank you, Henry."

His godson giggled and slid off his lap, running off to go play with his toys.

The rest of the day was spent at JJ's house, spending time with the three of them. They played with Henry, watched tv, and ate dinner together. It was the most relaxed that Spencer had been in a long time. Later that evening, it was time for him to leave though. After saying his goodbyes, he headed outside and drove himself home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I know this chapter is a bit short, but the rest will hopefully be quite a bit longer as the story develops. Please let me know what you think and leave your feedback :)


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